-Les Puces-

Two accordion players, a stuffed kangaroo, Rolexx rip-offs, bongs and hookahs, hoodies that zip all the way up - over your face, a basket full of watch faces, crêpes, hot dogs, a George Lopez look-alike, fake leather, Oriental rugs, a stuffed crocodile, lingerie flapping in the wind, a statue of a boxer (dog, not sport), an antique doll with a broken-in face, a dog in a china shop, an offer to vacation with a man in Nice, hundreds of spoons, and a crazy man who tipped an invisible hat to me as we passed, even as he never stopped talking to himself.  These are all things I saw today at Les Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen.

I believe it is the largest flea market in Paris, and dates back to times of royalty.  After all, that's where the flea markets get their name - when the rich cast off their old, flea-infested garments, you went to the flea market to buy them.  Les Puces: the fleas.

Though antique furninture and tea sets were almost as tempting as the massive displays of Adidas and Nike ware, what I did manage to find was a little watch.  Who knows if it's actually antique or not, but the important parts are that it looks old, and it was 8 euro.  And I won't get in trouble in class for checking the time on my phone.

My most amazing find of the day was a blue and white vertically-striped vintage summer dress.  Incredibly adorable, but at least I didn't have to admit I couldn't afford it: the woman grabbed it from my hands, held it up against my bust and bluntly told me it was too small before I said a word.

It's also taken me 16 days in Paris to get around to eating a crêpe, but it was a parfait lunch for an afternoon of weaving through stalls and antique shops.  Polite and utterly engulfed in wrinkles, a little old man whipped me up a warm applesauce and sucre filled crêpe.  Just right for a day that still couldn't make it to 40 degrees and didn't offer enough sun for a parasol.